Odisha Assembly Budget Session begins; Guv highlights govt's key achievements

BHUBANESWAR: The Budget Session of Odisha Assembly commenced with the address of Governor Raghubar Das here on Monday. Das in his almost two-hour long speech highlighted the major achievements of the Naveen Patnaik-led state government.

Das began his address by extolling the government for successfully completing and dedicating the Rs 800 crore Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa to the devotees on January 17.

He also praised the state government for the transformation of the 16th century Maa Samalei temple in Sambalpur, 11th century Shree Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar and other religious and heritage spots across the state.

The government has spent Rs 200 crore for the SAMALEI project and 280 crore for the EKAMRA project.

Das in his speech presented a detailed account of the state government's achievements in different sectors including agriculture, industry, education, Information and Technology, etc.

Das said that due to the measures taken by the government, the state has made major strides in the agricultural sector.

He said the foodgrain production in the state has risen to 141.36 lakh metric tonne during 2022-23 as against 55.35 lakh MT of food grains in 2000-01.

The state witnessed all-time high productivity in rice and cotton during the recent period.

The state has also been conferred with 'Best Millet Promoting State'.

Governor Das said Odisha is one of the fastest growing states in India that showed exemplary growth revival post-Covid pandemic. He said the growth rate of agriculture and allied sector, industries and service sectors rose significantly.

"The state economy has witnessed an annual average growth rate of 6.47 per cent at 2011-12 prices during the period from 2012-13 to 2022-23, which is higher than the National/ Indian Annual Average Growth rate of 5.59 per cent. As per the Advance Estimate, Odisha's Economy has registered a growth rate of 7.8 per cent in 2022-23 (AE) at 2011-12 prices which is higher than the Indian Economy projected to grow by 7 per cent in 2022-23(AE)," said Das.

The per capita income in Odisha at current prices has also grown at 16.9 per cent in 2022-23(AE) to reach Rs 1.51 lakh from Rs 1.29 lakh in 2021-22.

Das also said that the unemployment growth rate of Odisha has declined.

Das also highlighted the success of many schemes launched by the state government such as Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI), Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojna (BSKY), etc. Meanwhile, the members of the opposition Congress party Monday staged a walk out from the house alleging that the government is blowing its own trumpet with the help of the Governor.

"Today, after (Odisha) Governor spoke for long hours, I told him that as in old days, the Kings used to hire some people (Bhats) to listen to their own praise, similarly the Odisha government is using you in a similar fashion which is unfortunate," said veteran Congress leader Narasingh Mishra.

Mishra also alleged that many misleading facts have been included in the Governor's address by the state government.

Meanwhile, the leaders of main opposition BJP party also claimed that the state government presented many lies through the Governor's address.